Keith Gooden
Welcome back to the Motorhome Matt podcast. I’m Keith Gooden.
Matt Sims
And I’m Motorhome Matt.
Keith Gooden
He’s the expert. I’m not! It’s brought to you with www.thatleisureshop.com. And in the news today, we’re still looking for sponsors for the podcast and we want you and your business on this podcast from next week. Can it be done, Matt?
Matt Sims
Of course, it can be done. Yeah, we’re talking to lots of people about getting involved. It’s fantastic. Maybe you want to sponsor us up to Christmas. So we’re already planning ahead. It’s not far away. There it is. I said the C word.
Keith Gooden
All the records in the record business are recorded in July and August for Christmas.
Matt Sims
That’s true.
Keith Gooden
There’s the famous story of Wizzard recording, ‘I Wish it Could be Christmas Every Day,’ in a heatwave in the heart of London by Marble Arch and they decorated the whole studio with decorations and all the rest of it and Christmassy things, but it was 98 degrees outside.
Matt Sims
Wow. I bet you were there, weren’t you?
Keith Gooden
No!
Matt Sims
Well, you wanted to be there!
Keith Gooden
Yeah, it would be quite good wouldn’t, it? I used to like Wizzard. Roy Wood is a ledge!
Matt Sims
He is a ledge.
Join the Motorhome Matt podcast as a sponsor
Keith Gooden
Okay, so if you want to be a sponsor of the podcast, and get your product, your business, on these airwaves, what can people do?
Matt Sims
You can go to our website, www.motorhomematt.co.uk/sponsor, and there is a load of information on the packages we’ve got available and a video of me talking to you to tell you a little bit more about podcasts, specifically this podcast, and how you can get involved.
Keith Gooden
www.thatleisureshop.com is our main sponsor. They stand behind us, they stand by us, and they’re such heroes and heroines.
Matt’s product of the week – Martin Dorey’s The Camper Van Bible
Keith Gooden
Let’s have a look at one of your favourite products – the best seller this week in travel books.
Matt Sims
Yeah, this week it’s been Martin Dorey’s Campervan Bible. It’s a fantastic book. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen it. It’s beautifully illustrated with lots of photographs and brilliant content. If you’re thinking of a campervan adventure, converting one, or heading off in one, it’s definitely the ultimate coffee table book.
Martin is a great friend of the podcast. It’s a beautiful book. Definitely go and check that out. Our other best seller this week has been Treasured Islands by Peter Naldrett. It is a beautiful book of islands that you can explore. I think it’s 200 islands around the UK that you can go and explore and discover. Brilliant.
Keith Gooden
Absolutely fantastic. And remember, there’s nothing better than motorhoming, caravanning or camping apart from reading about it.
Matt Sims
I’d rather go and do it.
Keith Gooden
I know you would!
Matt Sims
Can I go now?
Keith Gooden
It comes a close second!
Matt Sims
I’ve got the keys in my pocket ready to go.
Keith Gooden
Oh, fantastic.
Matt Sims
And this week make sure if you’re going to the Norfolk motorhome show you come and say hi, because we’re there with the shop. That Leisure Shop has their own stand at the show and we will have a range of outdoor furniture, kayaks and paddle boards from Seago to come and look at. So we’ll see you there!
Using a motorhome for work
Keith Gooden
Today’s main part of the podcast is about vanlife – motorhomes for work and featuring as well Alice Roberts who’s off the telly!
Matt Sims
She is – BBC Two. Off the telly?
Keith Gooden
Off the telly!
Matt Sims
Digging for Britain is what she’s famous for. She also has a starring role in Detectorists. Did you watch that?
Keith Gooden
No.
Matt Sims
It was a beautiful piece of telly. Really entertaining. We thoroughly enjoyed the series. I commend it to you. And Alice appears in a little cameo role at the end. It’s very funny.
Keith Gooden
She’s an archaeologist?
Matt Sims
She is a famous archaeologist and professor and TV presenter. And Digging for Britain are filming series 11, I think it is. It’s going out on BBC Two. So yeah, we’ll hear from her in a minute.
Keith Gooden
Fantastic.
Tell us if you work in your motorhome and if you enjoy it
Keith Gooden
And now with the increase in vanlife, there’s a huge increase in people working in their motorhomes, not just living in them. I suppose when you think about it, whether it’s at home, or you’re taking a van out and living in it permanently, it’s a great idea. To be connected and work from your motorhome – why not?
Matt Sims
I work from ours all the time. So Jude will go off for a walk and I’ll stay back and work. That’s generally how it works. And then I say, “I’ll meet you at four o’clock at that pub.” And she’ll go off with the dog and I’ll see her there for a drink later on.
But we work in our motorhome all the time. I’m always taking my laptop with me, sadly, as a small business owner. I often get no choice! But there are some challenges with working in a motorhome. We’d love to hear your comments, your thoughts if you work in your motorhome.
Do you live in your motorhome or your campervan? We would love your thoughts on this. What challenges do you face? We’re trying to build up some future content on this theme because an increasing number of people are choosing to live in a van and work in a van – maybe both. So let us know your thoughts.
Keith Gooden
Number one, I suppose you’ve got to be connected, haven’t you?
Matt Sims
Yeah, you need to get on the internet. There are lots of ways that you can do that – mobile routers, you can obviously tether off your iPhone, but there’s an increasing number of 4G and 5G aerials that you can tether to.
And we are going to do a whole episode on this in the future, so stay tuned for that. But what do you use to get on the internet? That’s a really key factor in terms of getting connectivity. Particularly if you’re uploading lots of videos, you’re going to need a pretty hefty connection to the world.
Keith Gooden
And I suppose if you’re loading up your van with things for working, then security becomes an issue because you’ve got thousands of pounds worth of computers around!
Matt Sims
Well, you could do yeah! So making sure it’s all insured – on this point of insurance, making sure your contents are all insured, in a previous episode with Caravan Guard, they gave a really good tip of keeping the receipts for stuff that you’ve bought that goes in your campervan.
So even if you’re not living in it, you’ve got tables, chairs, all the stuff that you’re using in it, keep the receipts because it is covered under many insurance policies. If you’re living in the van full-time, it’s really important to tell your insurer. I was talking to one just last week, and we were arranging some content with them.
And they quoted a story that they were unable to pay out an insurance claim for a vehicle that had been stolen, a campervan. And the occupant was living in it full-time – it was therefore not insured because they were not aware of that.
Keith Gooden
Really?!
Using motorhomes for TV and Film productions
Keith Gooden
You hire out lots of motorhomes, don’t you, for TV and film productions. The Outlaws is one of them. Christopher Walken was just talking to you last week, wasn’t he?
Matt Sims
It wasn’t last week. Yeah, Christopher wasn’t in one of our motorhomes. He was given a big luxury American RV.
Keith Gooden
Was he? You didn’t tell me about that.
Matt Sims
He’s posh, isn’t he?
Keith Gooden
He’s Hollywood.
Matt Sims
He is Hollywood, but Stephen Merchant was in one. And he used it as his office every day on set. He was using it as his private toilet and his workstation. And the motorhome we were giving him was very tall because he is!
And he was using it as a place for meetings, and it had two great big tables. And he could use his laptop and plan the script and plan the day’s shooting. And every day he was working from a motorhome on set. And they were on location at various places throughout the city of Bristol day and night. So it was a really useful resource for him.
Keith Gooden
That sounds good. When you say he was using it as a toilet – he was using the toilet in the motorhome?
Matt Sims
He was!
Keith Gooden
Was it a motorhome or caravan?
Matt Sims
It was a motorhome and yes, he was using the toilet.
Keith Gooden
Did he go driving in it at all?
Matt Sims
I think probably getting him insured to drive it probably now will be tricky. I saw a friend of mine at the weekend. They’ve just bought a campervan brand new. It’s beautiful, a Globecar. Simon won’t mind me telling this story. He’s a TV producer. He told the insurance company he’s a TV producer. Could he get insurance? No chance.
Keith Gooden
Of course, he can’t. You always put manager!
Matt Sims
It’s a real challenge for him, bless him. I think he’s managed to get around it now. But yeah, he’s one of the producers on Blue Planet and BBC Natural History and couldn’t get insured.
Keith Gooden
You also hired out, didn’t you, for Poldark, the TV series, a special 17th century motorhome? Half-timbered?
Matt Sims
Coal powered. No, we did! We had them on the set. A lot of Poldark was filmed on location, oddly not in Cornwall, where it’s allegedly set. An amazing amount of it was based in South Wales and in the Cotswolds.
And so we were driving them into the middle of nowhere into a field and they were being sat in by the cast. And yes, Aidan Turner did sit in some of our motorhomes, and lots of our customers just want to know, “Which one did he use? Can I use the same toilet as Aidan Turner?!” I’ve got his cufflink, actually – he dropped it inside.
Keith Gooden
Really?
Matt Sims
Yeah. So I’ve got an Aidan Turner cufflink now!
Keith Gooden
So you’re down to your elbow…
Matt Sims
Only one!
The benefits of a motorhome for work with Alice Roberts/
Keith Gooden
Our guest interviewee this week is Alice Roberts. She’s a biological anthropologist, TV presenter and author. You might know her from Digging for Britain. She’s the archaeologist with the dyed red hair. She wouldn’t mind me saying that would she? It is dyed, isn’t it?
Matt Sims
Yeah. She always has funky hair.
Keith Gooden
Yeah, funky hair.
Matt Sims
She’s a funky lady.
Keith Gooden
Funky hair.
Matt Sims
She’s lovely and very funky. Yeah, she’s got brightly coloured hair. And Alice is currently in one of our motorhomes on location at various sites throughout the UK over the next few weeks. I think they’re filming series 11 right now and I spoke to her in her back garden just before she set off.
Alice Roberts
Today’s the day that I set off on my travels again. So it’s really exciting. I’m really excited to be going off in a motorhome, too. I mean, it is great travelling all around the country. I get to drop in on fascinating archaeological sites.
And I think Digging for Britain is probably the only series that the BBC commissions without knowing what’s going to be in it. And that’s the excitement of it for me, that we go off each year not knowing what the archaeologists are going to find.
And even now, we’ve got an idea where we’re going. We know what people are finding. They’re obviously talking to us about their sites and their discoveries. But there will be things that emerge over the next few months that we don’t anticipate. Absolutely brilliant!
Matt Sims
So how long are you spending filming this series, then?
Alice Roberts
It’s actually already started. So I did one day back in January. And some of the teams have been out filming at various archaeological sites over the last couple of months. I spend most of June and July, I have a bit of a break in August and then I’m back on it in September. So it’s a big chunk of the year for me.
Matt Sims
Yeah. And when will this new series be out?
Alice Roberts
Probably the same time of year that the other series have been, so we’ve moved back on to BBC Two, which is a great joy.
Matt Sims
Woohoo!
Alice Roberts
I know, it’s brilliant! It means we can go to more sites. It means we can do more programmes. And for the last two years, it’s been early January, so I imagine it’ll be the same in 2024.
Matt Sims
And what is the best thing for you about using a motorhome for doing these shoots and travelling the country?
Alice Roberts
Do you know, It’s absolutely brilliant. I’ve had a campervan for a while. My own campervan is a T5 California, which I still use to go all over the place. I’ll be heading off to Glastonbury in a couple of weeks’ time to do the Free University of Glastonbury speaking in a teepee at the back of the park, and I’ll be taking my own campervan.
But having the motorhome means that I’m a bit more independent. It’s got a shower, it’s got a loo, so I can get off grid a bit. I’ll be staying at campsites a lot of the time, but I can also stay at some of the archaeological sites as well, which is absolutely brilliant.
So the year before last, I stayed overnight at Silchester, which is this fantastic Roman site. And I was there with the site supervisors and we just carried on chatting about the site into the night. I mean, I started using motorhomes for Digging for Britain in 2021 when we still had some COVID restrictions.
Matt Sims
I guess it was COVID that sparked it.
Alice Roberts
Yeah, absolutely. Hotels were open, and the rest of my crew stayed in hotels that year. But obviously if one of them got COVID, they could get somebody and get a replacement in. If I went down with COVID, that’s it, the filming would stop. So I had to keep myself quite safe and quite separate.
And actually, I didn’t get COVID until March of ’21. But I didn’t get COVID again that year, so I think it was a really safe way of filming. And actually, doing it for that reason just opened my eyes to the idea that it’s a great way of doing it anyway. It’s fantastic.
I love the whole thing of life in a van. It suits me down to the ground. It’s little things like this which are actually really important. I can keep my filming wardrobe nice and smart. This morning, I’ve just been ironing all my tops.
I have multiple versions of the same top. Everybody always goes, “Do you not have any more clothes?” It’s like, “I’ve got lots of clothes, but they’re all the same,” which is brilliant for continuity. I ironed them all this morning and put them into the wardrobe. I have a wardrobe in the motorhome.
And then that’s that, and I don’t need to worry for the rest of the week. If I was in and out of hotels, I’d probably be having to iron things every morning in a hotel room and living out of a suitcase. It just doesn’t work so well. And I do just like being independent and, yeah, travelling around the country. It’s great.
Matt Sims
Have you got the leather jacket this time?
Alice Roberts
I have got a leather jacket, but I’ve got a new one as well. So I’ve got a wax jacket as well, kind of a motorbike-style jacket in a teal colour.
Matt Sims
Oh, posh! I look forward to that. That’ll go with your hair!
Alice Roberts
Yeah! Well, it’ll clash with my hair, probably!
Matt Sims
One of the things we love about watching it is when the cameraman zooms out on a drone. We stare at the screen looking for the motorhome at the side of the dig. “There is, a little white box! We can see it!” I guess that’s one of the best things, the freedom, as you say, to drive to the dig and be on site with everything you need, isn’t it?
Alice Roberts
Oh, it’s fantastic. I like being able to cook myself healthy meals as well. I think sometimes when you stay in hotels, there’s always a temptation to eat out in a big way every night. To be in my main team and make myself healthy food, nice salads, that kind of thing, it’s lovely. I do that with lunch as well. You know, it’s just nice to be able to go and make yourself a nice salad wrap or something at lunch.
Matt Sims
So this week, can you tell us where you’re going?
Alice Roberts
We are heading off to Carlisle, first of all, to go and look at a Roman site. And then I think I’m in New York and Cambridgeshire, so I’m going to be doing some miles.
Matt Sims
Yeah, you are. And then the same again next week?
Alice Roberts
Next week, I’m down on Salisbury Plain with my very good friend Richard Osgood, MOD archaeologist, and he’s looking at a really extraordinary site where there’s a mediaeval village. But there’s also a much later village as well, which was cleared, I think, for the MOD. So there’s a story of two deserted villages in one place separated by some 500 years.
Matt Sims
Wow. Well, have safe travels. And we really look forward to seeing the series when it’s out.
Alice Roberts
Thank you very much.
Matt Sims
Have a great time.
Alice Roberts
Thank you. I’m excited. Yeah, off I go!
Keith Gooden
That’s the lovely Alice Roberts, and she was lovely to you. Did you get any free food or drink?
Matt Sims
No, I didn’t. We were only there for 10 minutes. I literally dropped the motorhome off and said, “Can I shove a mic in your face? I’ve only got one question.” And bless her, we sat down on her outdoor furniture and had a proper chat. Lovely.
Keith Gooden
And you provided the motorhomes as you said earlier for the filming of Digging for Britain. Is it particularly dirty inside where she’s got muddy shoes?
Matt Sims
That’s a very good question. It’s not, actually! No, she’s very good. I suppose there’s a bit of mud, but it’s her home, isn’t it, when she’s away? So she keeps it clean and tidy.
The challenges of working in a motorhome full-time
Keith Gooden
Okay, let’s return to some of the challenges. I mentioned earlier about being connected and such. So you’ve got your motorhome, and you are thinking of spending more and more time in it. You think, “Oh, it would be nice to get away for a week or two, maybe a month. I don’t know, maybe I want to live in it.” What do I need to do in order to make myself a proper vanlifer?
Matt Sims
Are you going to become a vanlifer?!
Keith Gooden
No!
Insurance
Matt Sims
I’m not surprised. Well, one of the first things to do – I talked about it earlier – is your insurance company, they need to know. They will have a time limit on how long they are prepared to insure you in that motorhome travelling.
So if you’re going to go for a few months, then tell them and I’m sure they’re going to have an ability to insure you for that. If you’re going abroad, they will definitely have a time limit on how long they’ll insure you out of the country.
Aside from the 90 day limit, that rule that limits us to travelling 90 days on the continent, your insurance company will have the same. So it’s really important if you’re living in it full-time you tell them. There is a possibility they can’t insure you under those terms, or they will increase your premium. Be prepared and be warned. But be informed. That’s the key.
Keith Gooden
Tell them the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Because you never know, if it comes to making a claim and you haven’t been truthful, they just won’t pay out.
Matt Sims
Exactly. As I said earlier, yeah, that’s the risk.
Keith Gooden
Your risk is what they’re insuring. You’re insuring your belongings, but they’re ensuring the risk to those belongings. So you have to be truthful. Not having a fixed address is an issue, isn’t it?
Matt Sims
Yeah, it is an issue. You are potentially not on the electoral roll. This can affect your credit score. So having a fixed abode is really key. If you don’t have a house, you don’t own any bricks and mortar, then ask a family member or a friend if you can register yourself at their address and get on the electoral roll at their address.
Make sure your banks are aware of this address, and they will communicate with you and make sure your driving licence is registered to that address as well. If you ever need to present ID for anything, it’s really important that the addresses match.
So people forget to tell the DVLA that they’ve moved house. And it means technically you haven’t got a driving licence. You certainly haven’t got a driving licence that you can use as proof of ID.
Keith Gooden
The driving licence, by the way, always belongs to the DVLA. They licence you to drive and they can get the police to take it off you any time they want. So those addresses and things are very important.
Wi-Fi
Keith Gooden
I’ve mentioned a couple of times these Wi-Fi connections. But if you’re not connected these days, you’re not part of the human race, are you?
Matt Sims
Really?!
Keith Gooden
Yeah, really!
Matt Sims
That’s not true.
Keith Gooden
You can’t email, you can’t reference things by Googling, and let’s face it, lots of people shop, they pay their bills, and they do it all online. You don’t need cash anymore. So Wi-Fi connectivity – if you’re going to be living in your van, you need to be part of the real world, don’t you?
Matt Sims
Yeah, you do for certain things, certainly. And my 15 year old recently used up all his data on his phone four days ahead of the renewal date. He came out in a rash. It’s like he’d lost an arm. “Dad, help!”
And we of course had to buy him some more data, which he needs to buy bus tickets. So I had to, but I was very tempted to say, “Well, tough. You’ve got your allocation, however many meg it is. Make it last.” But he needed to have some more.
But I have to say, there is something very liberating about not having any connectivity. In fact, Jude will choose a holiday destination for us where there isn’t any connectivity. I don’t know if it’s punishment. For me, I don’t know.
But actually, so long as I know, that’s fine. And we will go on holiday where we need connectivity because we do need to keep in touch with work and stuff that’s going on. But actually taking a proper break where you can disconnect in every sense and just connect with nature without any interruption is really, really important.
I refer to the Outjoyment Report. Do you remember, the Camping and Caravanning Club released a report? We were both there when they did so. And the science behind the mental health benefits of getting out into nature – and motorhoming, of course, and campervanning is a great way to do it. But the mental health benefits have been scientifically proven by two universities. It is really, really good for you. So as soon as you can do it, I would commend it to you.
Finding park ups
Keith Gooden
Where to park? That’s a big one. We’ve covered this, haven’t we, in the past? There was the lorry park in Exmouth, which vanlifers started to use and they were slung out. We’ve had problems in Bristol on The Downs. Vanlifers are being asked to move on by the council. We talked to Darran as well, a YouTuber, about where he parks. He gave us some good advice, but it’s an issue.
Matt Sims
Yeah, it certainly is. And it’s finding somewhere to park where you feel safe, you’re not impacting anybody else, and you’re legally parked. Ultimately your vehicle has to be taxed, MOTed and insured.
And then you can technically park on any road. But I would go and check out our trespass episode where we talk about this, the fact that all land is owned and you might need permission to be there. So be very mindful of where you are parking.
Keith Gooden
We’ve got a younger generation growing up. They want to be freer. Vanlifing appeals to a lot of them. You’ve been talking about this, haven’t you, the whole topic with a number of Vanlife Festival organisers.
Matt Sims
We have, yeah. We’re really excited to be pulling together an episode on vanlife as a topic. So it’s become a bit of a movement. And there are all these vanlife festivals. A couple have run already this year. And there are more coming over the coming weeks. And I just thought, well, this is a new trend. Is it just a fad? Is it an event that is just being jumped on and audiences are being capitalised upon?
We’re even seeing some big corporate event organisers like Warners, who launched Campervan Campout, which was very much a vanlife targeted audience. And so we’re pulling together a number of the organisers. A couple of them are friends of mine, and we’re having a chat with them about what is involved in organising a vanlife event. And actually, who are they for?
Keith Gooden
You could have the Motorhome Matt vanlife event, couldn’t you?
Matt Sims
That’d be rubbish!
Keith Gooden
Sponsored by you?
Matt Sims
But is it for me? That’s the question I’ve got. Are they for people that own a van with a chimney they’ve installed themselves and a double mattress thrown in the back, the really, really basic van conversion? Or are they for the more corporate motorhome, £150,000 kind of consumer? Who are they for? Who goes to these things?
Keith Gooden
We’d really like to hear from you on this one. So if you can get in touch, that would be great. We can maybe answer some questions or perhaps you can answer a question or two, not just Motorhome Matt. How do people get in touch on this one then, Matt?
Matt Sims
Yeah, you can do so at www.motorhomematt.co.uk/askmatt. Hit the orange button and record your question. Please tell us where you are in the country. And if you’re living in your van and you’re prepared to, tell us where you go and where you park up in your van. We would love to know.
Audience Q&A
Keith Gooden
We absolutely would. It’s the Motorhome Matt podcast with me, Keith Gooden.
Matt Sims
And me, Motorhome Matt!
Keith Gooden
Brought to you with www.thatleisureshop.com. Here’s one of my favourite parts of the whole shebang!
Matt Sims
You love this bit.
Keith Gooden
I do – the Q&A, the questions and answers from our listeners. Our lovely, loyal, fantastic listeners. That means you!
Karen: “Will the motorhome industry meet the EV deadlines?”
Keith Gooden
Karen’s in Sunderland. “How likely,” she says, “Is it that the motorhome industry will meet the 2030 or ’35 deadline for no more petrol or diesel vehicles being sold in that a three and a half tonne motorhome EV may have sufficient power to travel acceptable distances?” And will the UK have sufficient recharging infrastructure for all,” she underlines all, “Anticipated EVs on the roads by then?” Matt?
Matt Sims
Well, we’re back to it again. The future of electric motorhomes. We’ve talked about this a lot, Karen, on previous episodes, and maybe it’s one you’ve listened to that sparked the question. I would definitely suggest going back and listening to them.
Listen to the one with Graeme Cooper as well. There are two episodes with Graeme where we talk about this deadline and the infrastructure that is going to be needed that doesn’t exist yet. That’s the key.
And the other episode to check out is the future of electric motorhomes where we talk about the 2030 deadline where all new vehicles must be hybrid, and then the 2035 deadline – which is now law – that all new vehicles must be zero emissions. So there’s a big change coming. I would definitely go and check out those episodes.
Adrian: “How can I address issues with Fiat?”
Keith Gooden
Adrian in Nottingham has been in touch. “Hi, Matt. I’ve got a 2022 Dethleffs Globetrotter A-class on a Fiat base. Since day one, there have been a couple of issues with the Fiat. I bought the vehicle new but as the supplying dealer is 150 miles away, I’ve taken it to my local Fiat professional garage twice, and they’ve been unable to fix it.
They now want it in for several days for investigation. I’ve refused because they’re a commercial enterprise and I’m not prepared to leave it in a lorry graveyard for more than a day, let alone a week.” Bit harsh there Adrian, surely?
“I’ve spoken to Fiat and both the other nearest recommendations from them were unable to take on new customers. Would I be better off paying for an auto electrician to take a look and go about trying to recover something from Fiat or take a pilgrimage back to the supplying dealer and leave it with them?”
Matt Sims
Wow. Okay, so firstly, lovely choice of motorhome. And Dethleffs, of course, while they have a UK network of dealers, they are not on every street corner. So you are going to have to travel to get to a Dethleffs dealer.
That is something, actually – coming up to the October show where motorhomes are for sale on various stands, make sure you ask the dealer, “Where are you based? Which is your dealership business and where in the country is it?” Because if you live in Cornwall, you could be buying a motorhome from someone based in Scotland.
Well, that’s where you’re going to collect it and probably where you’re taking it if there’s a problem. So definitely a top tip for going to a show, which I know we’ve covered before, but maybe that’s been Adrian’s experience and why he’s in this position. I know what you mean, though, about the lorry graveyard.
A Dethleffs Globetrotter A-class is not a small motorhome. But in one of those environments, it is scary how small it feels. These articulated lorries – and there’s all sorts of machinery that drives up and down the road that’s based in there for a service or repair.
They are huge and our motorhomes are very expensive and look tiny and very clean up against them. I’ve been there, I know exactly what you mean, Adrian. I think trying to claim money back from Fiat – I think you’re probably on a hiding to nothing.
You could try if you can get hold of them. That’s going to be the first challenge. To speak to someone with authority that’s going to refund you – I think you’re on to a loser there. In terms of continuing to use it, I think your best solution probably is getting an independent auto electrician out. You haven’t said what the problem is.
But I think if you get an auto electrician out and they can fix it, it probably isn’t going to cost a fortune to repair. You haven’t said, I don’t know. But it means you can use it again. And surely that’s more important than fretting and beating yourself up over where you take it to get it repaired.
Personally, for me, I understand your position about the commercial Fiat dealership. I understand your position and view on the dealer on the motorhome side being so far away. I would probably just get an auto electrician out. Agree with them on a price to get it fixed and see where you go.
Keith Gooden
There you go., Adrian. I hope that’s been some help, and let us know when you get everything sorted, please.
Get in touch with Matt and Keith
Keith Gooden
How can people get in touch then, Matt?
Matt Sims
Yeah, absolutely – on the website, you’ll find us there. www.motorhomematt.co.uk/askmatt. You can record a question or make a contribution. And please tell us where you are in the country when you’re doing so, or you can fill in the form and submit your question there. You will also find us on YouTube. We’ve got some lovely long content on YouTube, a whole range of different videos to watch. And we’re on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok too.
Keith Gooden
TikTok too! And please share the love with a friend of the Motorhome Matt podcast. And if people listen on Apple or Spotify…
Matt Sims
Please leave us a review! On Apple and Spotify you can leave us a five star review. It really helps populate the podcast into other people’s podcast feeds, so we would be very grateful if you could help us by doing that.
